He also carried another message: Those responsible for gun violence in Indianapolis would begin facing the harshest possible response from federal authorities. Detention with no bond in jail cells outside the state. Mandatory minimum sentences spanning decades in prison. No opportunities for parole.

"If they're caught with a gun," Minkler said, "they're going to face the federal hammer in this district."

Minkler wields a fiery brand of tough-on-crime rhetoric, his background and politics shaping a viewpoint in step with the vision laid out by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and President Trump. Trump, who has called Democrats weak on crime, tapped Minkler last year to lead the Southern District of Indiana.

But Minkler also has gained the support of Joe Hogsett, the Democrat mayor who answers to a progressive population and, to some extent, sets Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department priorities. Hogsett, a former U.S. attorney under President Obama, was Minkler's supervisor before becoming mayor.

The cooperation breaks through the barriers typically constructed between Republicans and Democrats and between federal and local officials. Minkler, a career federal prosecutor with a history of drug and gun cases, is leading an effort to bring the might of the federal government to bear against even local crime.

Minkler, who grew up in Muncie and graduated from Wabash College and Indiana University Maurer School of Law, is now charged with executing the Trump administration's strategy to reverse the record bloodshed in Indianapolis.

He is taking a cue from Sessions, who has pressed his federal prosecutors to pull illegally possessed guns off the streets as part of a return to an initiative first championed under President George W. Bush.

The strategy isn't without its critics. Monica Foster, the chief federal public defender in the Southern District of Indiana, characterized the policies as a simplistic response to a complex problem looming over Indianapolis.

Locking up a young man who carries a gun, Foster says, doesn't actually fix the problems that lead to crime, such as failing schools, poverty, family problems and mental illness.

"These are the same old worn-out ideas they've always had," she said. "We've returned to the relics of the past."

Still, with backing from federal agencies, Indianapolis, IMPD and the Marion County prosecutor's office, Minkler is pushing ahead with his agenda.

"Gun violence is a huge challenge in Indianapolis," Minkler told IndyStar. "We have to respond to that challenge. And the response has to be consequential."

'Boots on the ground'

Cooperation between federal and Indianapolis law enforcement isn't new, but it has reached a stronger level of partnership in recent months.

The most visible example comes every two weeks when high-ranking members of federal and local agencies gather in IMPD's East District headquarters.

They collectively review the backgrounds of people who emerge as suspects in Indianapolis homicides and non-fatal shootings. Using their combined evidence, they build and assign cases to investigators.

Early January served as another success story. An area on the southeast side saw an unusual spike of violence: 19 shootings and four criminal homicides.

IMPD raised the concern at the biweekly meetings.

"Up goes the hand from FBI," said IMPD Deputy Chief Chris Bailey, who oversees the investigations division. "You don't see that in other cities. Their locals and feds don't get along. It's a very adversarial relationship."

The weeklong operation netted 92 arrests, methamphetamine, heroin and 19 guns, including a semi-automatic rifle. The area has been quiet since, Bailey said.

In other cities, political or career ambitions, turf wars and lack of communication can hinder such collaboration.

It's possible in Indianapolis because of the unified mission to finally quash gun violence, according to those interviewed by IndyStar.

But it's also a reflection of Minkler and his track record, they say.

Minkler, 55, started working in the U.S. attorney's office in 1994 by prosecuting low-level cases after five years as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Kent County, Michigan. He has steadily climbed the federal ranks, reaching the positions of drug and violent crimes unit chief and first assistant, the second in command.

He also led the office in the interim prior to his confirmation as a presidential appointment. Now he is a direct conduit to top Justice Department leaders in Washington, including his boss, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Along the way, Minkler has garnered respect from public safety leaders, courtroom adversaries and other prosecutors.

"Not only was he boots on the ground alongside us, he was an incredibly proactive and productive (prosecutor)," said Cynthia Ridgeway, a federal prosecutor working as Minkler's first assistant. "People appreciate someone who has been there, done that."

When Hogsett served as U.S. attorney, he picked Minkler to the position Ridgeway now holds.

"Some people were surprised just because they knew his background," Hogsett said. "I guess they presumed that I would select a progressive Democrat."

Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry, also a Democrat, acknowledged the political climate in Washington but said he and Minkler still work closely.

"There's nothing about what goes on with the national chatter that really has any impact whatsoever on our working relationship," Curry said. "Clearly we're on the same page in terms of violent crime: guns and drugs."

Even Foster, who says Minkler's policies amount to the abandonment of Indianapolis youth, drafted a letter recommending Minkler for the U.S. attorney position.

"I like Josh a lot. And we've got an excellent working relationship, which I think is really important for the justice system overall," Foster told IndyStar. "His door is always open, which is one of the things I really admire about him."

The federal hammer

Minkler believes drug trafficking is clearly contributing to the city's violence. He says the larger problem, though, is a lack of accountability when someone commits a crime.

That is especially true, he says, when it comes to the illegal use of guns. To Minkler, drug dealers who carry are different from those who don't. There is a direct link to violence when a firearm is present.

Those criminals, Minkler says, demand the attention of his office. That is where the so-called federal hammer comes in. Consider, for instance:

Arrestees are detained in holding facilities out of the county, away from connections and family.

Conviction rates are higher than 90 percent in federal drug and gun cases.

People convicted in federal court often face more severe sentences.

"The consequences of committing a crime if you're taken to federal court are harsh, necessarily harsh, in my opinion, but they're very harsh," Minkler said.

Word appears to be spreading into Indianapolis neighborhoods to not get caught with a gun. Detectives have heard suspects say as much in recorded jail calls.

Carman Malone, a defense attorney, said she and her colleagues are noticing the increase in federal handgun cases. "I think they are sending a message that they won't tolerate this," she said.

Minkler assigned an assistant U.S. attorney to each of IMPD's six districts. They are now working alongside police commanders and federal agents to pursue gun cases.

IMPD and the Bureau for Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also have assigned personnel to the cause.

The three are creating a gun crime intelligence center, which would more rapidly analyze firearms and spent shell casings used in crimes.

Minkler said he expects to see more federal crime prosecutions this year than ever before.

Those prosecutions may come in a gang case, a drug case, an immigration case. It doesn't matter, Minkler said, as long as illegal guns are taken off the streets.

And as long as he sees a decline in the number of homicides, robberies and nonfatal shootings.

Trump administration's response

The strategy is a return to a crime policy first unveiled under President George W. Bush in 2001.

Project Safe Neighborhoods sharpened federal prosecutors' focus on gun crimes and sent grant money to states to hire new prosecutors. Indiana received nearly $1.3 million between May 2001 and October 2002 to hire 11 prosecutors, including three in Marion County, IndyStar reported at the time.

Gun prosecutions grew dramatically. National research conducted by Michigan State University indicated that the policy lowered violent crime between 2000 and 2006 in a group of participating cities.

Direct comparisons to Indianapolis are difficult, however. The violent crime rate actually rose in that time period within the jurisdiction of what was then the Indianapolis Police Department, according to FBI data, though the rate remained lower than in the years before and after. In 2007, IPD merged with the sheriff's department to create IMPD. The merger widened the department's jurisdiction and absorbed more reports of crime.

The MSU research showed a 9 percent decline in violent crime across a group of cities that followed the policy compared with no change in a group of cities that did not.

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U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions attends a Ten Point Coalition meeting in Indianapolis on Nov. 6, 2017.(Photo: Robert Scheer/IndyStar)

Late last year, Sessions announced a "re-invigoration" of Project Safe Neighborhoods, which he called the centerpiece of his crime-fighting strategy. The plan called for funding 40 additional federal prosecutors across the country. The Indianapolis office, which is understaffed relative to most of its peers, gained one.

U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks, a Republican who served as U.S. attorney under Bush, said she is pleased to see Sessions and Minkler embrace the strategy.

Minkler saw the effects first-hand. In 2006, as an assistant U.S. attorney assigned to Indianapolis' west side, Minkler worked alongside a district deputy chief with help from the FBI and ATF.

Together, they took down what they described as a violent group called the Haughville Syndicate. Twenty-one people were arrested and faced cocaine conspiracy charges in federal court, IndyStar reported at the time. An additional 24 people, described as street dealers and lower-level members, faced state charges.

Just as important is preventing the violence, Minkler says, by arresting those with criminal histories who happen to have a gun on them when they are stopped by police. People with felony convictions are prohibited from having guns.

"Targeting those individuals for possession of a firearm, which they can't legally do, we believe will reduce gun violence," Minkler said. "My experience informs me that that is true."

To Foster, however, the policy exemplifies a failure of government. The public defender says the Justice Department and Minkler are not accounting for the circumstances confronting those who are arrested, especially young men.

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U.S. Attorney Josh Minkler grew up in Muncie and graduated from Wabash College and Indiana University Maurer School of Law.(Photo: Robert Scheer/IndyStar)

"They grow up in neighborhoods where gun death is rampant," Foster said. "It shouldn't surprise anyone that they're walking around carrying guns for protection, largely, and then frequently things turn bad."

She referenced one of her teen clients who lived in three houses surrounded by violence on the north side.

To illustrate, she pointed to a map showing a year's worth of homicides. Beside each home sat a cluster of five to eight killings.

The teen also witnessed a massive police raid targeting gang members in his Indianapolis middle school. A school so bad, she said, that fewer than 10 students passed state proficiency exams that year.

At 17 he robbed some pharmacies. After his arrest, his life finally turned for the better. He read a book for the first time. He started eating.

Foster laments the lost potential for the city. Why couldn't the community aid in his turnaround before the situation turned dire?

Instead, clients like him face a different outcome: the prospect of decades spent in a federal prison.

'I've seen the results'

Minkler insists his policy is targeted only on those who commit violence. Last year, he directed his staff and federal agencies to decline pursuing low-level drug cases.

Roach, the police chief, said he and Minkler have talked repeatedly about needing to maintain focus.

"Our resources are not unlimited. If there are three dope dealers and one of them has a gun, my resources should go to that dope dealer that's carrying a gun," Roach said. "It's trying to be very specific on violence."

Early results show gun prosecutions are on the rise, according to federal data.

A researcher at Indiana University is collecting IMPD's crime data and measuring whether the increased federal activity and gun prosecutions will lead to a decline in violence.

More than 100 people walk through the neighborhood where 1-year-old Malaysia Robson was killed. The "Let's March for Malaysia" march was led by the Ten Point Coalition on the east side of Indianapolis on March 31, 2018.(Photo: Jenna_Watson/Indy_Star)

Minkler is committed to the policy for two years, he said. If Indianapolis can't turn the corner, he said, he will move to a new strategy.

But his own experiences are backing his convictions, and national research indicates that the approach can be successful.

Indianapolis, besieged by such gun violence that even a 1-year-old asleep in a home isn't safe, desperately awaits refuge.

"I believe very strongly that it's going to work," Minkler said. "I prosecuted those cases. I've seen the results."